April 12, 2008

Liow set to pep up Health Ministry

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Health Ministry staff members who are not prepared to serve the people with the right attitude have no place in the organisation and are free to leave.
Its minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said he did not want them hindering the progress of the ministry and would act immediately against those who were irresponsible.
He said the ministry’s 200,000 strong staff, especially front-liners such as specialists, doctors and nurses, needed to be professional and caring, and practise teamwork.
“If you cannot live up to the expectations of the ministry, then you can leave,” he said.
He said action that could be taken against non-performers included transferring them out of their existing department, adding that the ministry would introduce more key performance indicators, such as the number of patients specialists treated daily, to ensure staff carried out their job efficiently.
“They want gaji lebih (more salary), I can fight for them. I can fight in the Cabinet to get more money for them. But they must work for the people. The right attitude is to work for the rakyat,” he said.
Clearly dissatisfied and unhappy over the level of services being delivered by frontline staff, Liow said he wanted to push hard for good services.
He added that it was important to hold staff members accountable for their actions.
“We want to tackle the waiting time, rude and incompetent staff, and staff who are uncaring and do not work as a team. There must also be a sense of urgency,” he said, adding that his sentiments were based on public complaints.